Saleh Ghazal, CEO, OMD MENA. Title: CEO, OMD MENA
Years in the role: 3.5 years
Years in the industry: 18 years
Years in the middle east region: Born and raised in Lebanon and worked 18 years in the GCC
Other roles / board memberships: IAB MENA Board member
Power Essay: When speed kills originality
I train for triathlons, and my last race was the Warsaw Ironman 70.3 in June. There’s one thing you learn early on: you can’t sprint an Ironman. If you go too fast, too early, you burn out before the finish line. You need to know when to push, when to pace and when to reset. You need patience. And above all, you need strategy.
I feel the same way about marketing today. In Dubai, across the region, and globally, we are running faster than ever. New tech, new platforms, new AI tools and new generations. Gen Z and even Gen Alpha are shaping consumption patterns before most brands have figured out Millennials.
We’ve officially entered an era of hyper-acceleration. The result? Marketers are in a constant race to do more, faster. And that obsession with urgency is quietly killing something essential: original thinking.
We’re creating more campaigns, more reports, more dashboards than ever before. But let’s be honest, we’ve also created a culture where marketers expect agencies to move at TikTok speed:
“By when do you want the plan? Yesterday.”
“We need the report by noon. But it’s 9 am. Yes, but it’s urgent.”
“This needs to go live now.”
Sound familiar?
Yes, we can deliver at that speed. And with AI adoption, we can do it even faster. But here’s the truth: creativity needs space. Craft takes time. Ideas need oxygen.
When we rush every brief, we kill the possibility of breakthrough thinking. Planners stop searching for the insights that set you apart. They start recycling templates. They ignore innovation. And that’s how we end up in a sea of sameness.
This is a call for marketers and for agencies. If you want to stand out, you need to slow down:
- Stop treating every brief like a fire drill. Urgency is not a strategy.
- Give your teams and agencies space to think. One strong idea beats 50
rushed ones. - Reward distinctiveness, not speed. The brands that take their time to understand audiences and craft stories will win cultural relevance.
In endurance sports, discipline beats adrenaline. You don’t finish an Ironman by sprinting the first 10km. You finish by pacing smartly, thinking clearly and finding rhythm.
Marketing works the same way. If we keep pushing everything as urgent, we’ll keep getting forgettable campaigns. But when we pause, think, and create with intent, we deliver work that resonates, work that earns attention, and work that we’re proud of.
Because in a world obsessed with speed, depth is the real competitive advantage.
Highlight of the last year
Successfully launched and built the Qatar office from the ground up, transforming it into a growing hub with
a strong team and thriving client relationships.
Rapid fire
What the industry needs to talk more about:
The importance of building a brand.
What the industry needs to talk less about:
AI, when it is not used correctly.
If you could change one thing in the blink of an eye, you would …
I don’t know where to start.
What’s one thing about you that would surprise your team?
I failed twice in school.
What mobile application can you not live without?
WhatsApp.
What word / phrase do people remember you for using the most?
“I need to wake up at 5 am tomorrow.”
What’s one local / regional tradition that you love the most?
Ramadan.
If you could choose any two people, currently alive, in the world to share a meal with you, who would it be
Elon Musk and Sam Altman.
What’s your top word of advice for Gen Z and Gen Alpha?
Read and stay up to date.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Shawarma.
What’s your favourite ad from the past 12 months?
‘Almaza’ (Lebanon).
